By Steve Boudreault, Buildium, Boston, MA

Well here we are in a brand-new year, and if you’re a property manager, you’ve no doubt drawn up your plan for keeping your residents and keeping them happy in 2013. Many property managers follow a fairly standard playbook when it comes to resident perks — Super Bowl parties, free coffee in the mornings, discounts on multi-year leases, and so forth. But here’s something to consider: SatisFacts, the apartment industry’s authority on resident satisfaction and retention, discovered that the top three factors that influence a renewal decision are quality of maintenance service, safety and security, and quality of customer service provided by office staff. But what about the free peppermint candy in the leasing office? Nope. Not gonna cut it.

So how can you use these three factors to your advantage? Let’s take a look.

The quality of maintenance service is a no-brainer. It can be a challenge for larger properties, but maintenance staff showing up quickly with the most likely tools they’ll need for the issue can go a long way. And though many properties have switched to an online maintenance request system, most service requests still come via phone or in-person leasing office visit, so having staff on hand who are familiar with the most common issues and how to resolve them can be a real feather in your cap. Never having to worry about the malfunctioning garbage disposal? Who wouldn’t want to renew?

It’s no surprise that safety and security are a high priority for residents. Why would anyone want to stay somewhere they didn’t feel safe? Taking proactive steps to ensure a well-lit property filled with well-informed residents is key. Make sure that you have a good rapport with the local law enforcement. Replace burnt-out light fixtures in exterior common areas quickly. Inform residents if there have been any incidents such as break-ins, vandalism, or strangers hanging around the property, and be sure to let them know what’s being done about it. A feeling of security? Who wouldn’t want to renew?

And finally, customer service. It doesn’t matter if you have five units or 500, it all comes down to customer service. Do you have experienced professionals in place? Folks who can endure the most expletive-laced tirades with a smile? Who can make prospective tenants feel at ease, but with just enough sales experience to convince them they should take the plunge? And the $64,000 question — do you have a customer service staff that cares? Really cares about resident concerns? If so, you’ve got the biggest piece of the puzzle already in place. A pleasant voice on the other end that makes a person feel valued and appreciated? Who wouldn’t want to renew?

So? What are you doing to keep your renewal rate high this year?

By Jo-Anne Oliveri, ireviloution intelligence, Brisbane, Australia

Business by design. This is a term I conceived several years ago when I realized that the agencies I was consulting for seemed to run their business operations by default. There seemed to be no real planning and they were mostly reliant on things just happening. The vast majority operated through reactive management rather than proactive management in their business approach. A recipe for disaster!

As the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail.”

Business by default has caused a systemic problem negatively impacting the service and reputation of agencies offering leasing and management services. Think about it, if you already have a property management department did you design the business of your choice or did it just happen? Did you decide that you would offer leasing and management services and set about hiring an “experienced” property manager? In hiring an “experienced” property manager did you assume they would know enough to build the business up and create “systems” as they go? Did you decide that you would operate on minimal resources until there was enough money in the kitty to invest in further resources?

Due to the fact that many agencies are focused on sales first and then property management as an afterthought or a service that “should” be offered because it adds to the selling pool, there has, in most instances, been little or no planning. Hiring “experienced” property managers has led to a vicious cycle of trusting that you have the “right” property manager now and the last so called “experienced” property manager was just a “dud”. And so every time another property manager is lost or replaced a Pandora’s box of unresolved issues, disputes, and liability seems to be discovered. Somehow, the business owners console themselves that this time they found the right property manager and they will never have the problem that the last property manager caused.

And, how many business owners are guilty of hanging onto the property manager because they fear losing them will mean loss of business? It’s like a loaded gun constantly being held to your temple.

Oh and this one totally perplexes me. How many times when a new property manager has been employed have the agency systems and software been changed? I have even seen businesses going to the expense of changing their property management software on the advice of the property manager. Please understand that property managers advise that the software they are recommending is the best, because 99% of the time, it’s the only software or system they know. They feel lost and inadequate when they are working for an agency with unfamiliar software. This whole concept of changing software is quite ludicrous. Can you imagine retailers, banks, stockbrokers, travel or insurance agents, or in fact any business changing their software when the new employee recommends something else? Can you imagine what would happen if McDonalds’ franchise owners changed their software and systems on the advice and recommendation of a cashier level team member? They simply don’t do it, but for some reason the property management industry does.

Please remember to be aware and cautious of taking recommendations from the property manager about systems and software changes. A thorough due diligence is always recommended. I will go into this in more detail in later blogs.

Yes it’s a vicious circle and one that I’m sure many readers will relate to and I hope acknowledge.

So to understand the phrase “Business by Design” or “Business by Default” the first step to change is to plan your business of choice. By knowing this you are then in a position to develop the business that suits your market and offers a level of service to attract your local demographic.

It’s time to make your business happen and don’t just let it happen. Start planning and designing your business of choice.

Sure, your mom always told you that it isn’t nice to judge. But the truth of the matter is that in the professional world, we’re all judged. Don’t fret, though—being judged can actually be a good thing.

In this day and age customer service reviews move at the speed of light—or at least at the speed of the average internet connection. As if you need any more reason to improve customer service, here’s another one: Good customer service may very well work as a powerful PR and marketing tool for your business.

Online sites like Yelp and Angie’s List are quickly becoming some of the go-to-sources upon which the public bases its selection of service providers. On these open forums past customers rate and review your business, allowing potential customers to see how you rank against your competitors. Here’s how you can make the jury of public opinion work on your behalf.

Yelp
Since its inception in 2004, Yelp has grown exponentially — the site now gets up to 31 million visits per month (as of March 2010). In other words, Yelp reviews are serious business. Over the course of the past few years, Yelp has come to be regarded as a reliable, accurate source for business and service referals. Don’t underestimate the power of Yelp reviews or their importance to the success of your business.

While you can’t control content on Yelp, you can encourage happy customers to rate and review your business. It’s also important that you monitor your Yelp business page. If you see an unhappy customer post a review, turn it into a positive. Contact that person to address their issue and improve their experience with your company. Many Yelpers are quite conscientious about updating  and editing reviews to document such resolutions. Also remember that Yelp’s rating system works on averages. In other words, if one or two disgruntled customers give you an unfair low rating, rest assured that more even-keeled ratings will average this out.

Business owners can get in on the Yelp scene too. Special business accounts can be set up for free. Once this account is initiated, you can post things like special offers and discounts to Yelpers, which will appear under your business listing. From here you can also update basic business information, track traffic to your Yelp business page, interact with reviewers, and receive notifications when your business is reviewed.

Angie’s List
In business since 1995, Angie’s List is a bit more targeted than Yelp. You won’t find listings for things like restaurants and shops here—it’s limited to service providers and is especially targeted to homeowners and home repair issues. More than one million consumers actually pay a subscription fee to join Angie’s List and, for that fee, they rely on the customer-generated reports and reviews provided by the web site. Along with ratings (which appear as a “grade”) and reviews, customers also receive information on service providers’ prices, professionalism, and timeliness.

Business owners can click here to add their company information to the Angie’s List directory. This free account will also allow you to monitor and respond to your customer reports. As with Yelp, property managers can offer Angie’s List members discounts and special offers, but cannot affect their own business’ rating. On the Angie’s List Company Connect page you can actually find a link to a form specifically designed for business owners to distribute to customers so that you can encourage satisfied customers to share their experience.

Customer review sites like Angie’s List and Yelp can be your best friend. Not only do they spread the good word about your business, but they also provide your property management company with a very visible online presence, word-of-mouth referrals, potentially good marketing, and that extra little nudge to keep your customer service as satisfactory as possible.

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As each year goes by, more and more people utilize iPhones and BlackBerrys. With all of this instantaneous email access, communication skews a little more toward email all the time. Certainly, this isn’t necessarily a bad thing—but it is important to evaluate which situations are most appropriately handled with email and which ones call for a good old-fashioned phone call.

Phone: Making a connection.
It’s basic, but it’s worth noting—if face-to-face interaction isn’t possible, a phone call is the next best way to make a lasting first impression. Emails are great for a lot of reasons, but they do not allow for the voice inflections and dynamic back-and-forth that phone calls offer. When you’re dealing with a new client or discussing potentially tricky matters, a phone call is often the best route to take. It personalizes interactions and allows you put more personality behind your words. Not only do phone calls allow you to sell yourself, but they can also provide a valuable first impression of potential tenants and may help you determine whether or not they are the type of renter you’re seeking out for your property.

Email: Documenting information.
Emails are great for record keeping. When it comes to dealing with vendors, accounting issues, and legal matters, emails create a clear trail of regulations, promises, deadlines, and other important information. As noted above, tricky situations should be handled with a phone call, but it pays to follow up with an email reiterating key points when specific information is disseminated.

To optimize customer service and enhance relationships with clients, tenants, and vendors, be sure that you’re using email for the right reasons. Many people have come to rely on email to avoid uncomfortable conversations. While email may be a quick way out of a difficult phone call, often it’s much better to deal with such situations on a person-to-person basis via a telephone call.

After an initial phone call with potential tenants, sending vacancies via email is optimal. It allows you to send pictures of units and to include all key information such as apartment stats, amenities, and rental information. Having all of this information right in front of potential tenants will make it easier for them to make decisions.

Despite these general guidelines, many people have a preference when it comes to phone versus email communication. When dealing with a client or potential tenant, be sure to ask which communication method they prefer and stick to that route to the greatest extent possible.

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“The customer is always right.” Chances are, you’ve heard (and perhaps even doled out) this bit of advice many times over your property management career. Obviously, there’s a lot to be said for applying this philosophy to your own business dealings. Particularly in an age of automated electronic service, there is so much to be said for making each of your clients feel as though they are special and well cared for. The bottom line is that, these days, good, attentive customer service is very much the exception rather than the rule. Which is great, great news for property managers who find themselves in one of the few high-touch industries where it’s still possible to actually provide one-on-one, memorable customer service.

That’s the good news.

More difficult is the fact that, though property management may be a high-touch industry that affords you the opportunity to make an impact on your clients, chances are when it comes to customers, you’re juggling a whole lot of them at once. Not only are you contending with the task of keeping the property owners that sign your checks happy but, in many ways, tenants are also your customers. Which means, depending upon your situation, you may have many, many customers to please. And sometimes, the best interests of your tenants and property owners simply don’t align. So what exactly are you supposed to do when situations like these arise? After all, you need to protect your property owner’s assets, but you will ultimately fail your property owner if you are unable to balance his best interests with those of his tenants, ultimately resulting in increased vacancy rates and a loss of rental income.

All of this is to say that, especially in property management, it’s often impossible for every customer to be right, if being right implies that each customer always gets exactly what she asks for. What this does not mean, however, is that every customer can’t be a happy one.

Let’s look at this in practice. Say you have a long-term tenant who is adamant that you cut down a tree outside of his window that’s blocking his view of the park across the street. You know that your property owner will not want the tree to come down because not only does it aesthetically enhance the property and lower energy costs by providing shade, but it would also cost thousands of dollars to pull up the tree. On the other hand, you also know that the property owner would be extremely displeased to lose a long-term, reliable tenant—not to mention the steady rental income that he represents.

In the end, you know that the tree must stay, but you must also find a way to keep your tenant happy and, most importantly, to keep him in your property owner’s unit. So while your tenant (your customer in this scenario) can’t necessarily get his way, you can still let him think that he’s right by executing the following strategy:

1. Carefully listen to your tenant’s concerns and argument in a sympathetic manner.
2. Let your tenant know which points you agree with him about (i.e., “You’re right. It’s a shame that beautiful view is obstructed.”)
3. Explain in a straightforward manner why you are unable to resolve the tenant’s concern in the exact way he proposes.
4. Offer to meet the tenant half-way (for example, propose that some of the trees branches are cut back in order to afford him a more clear view of the park across the street).

In the end, most customers will be more concerned with feeling their needs and concerns are being taken seriously and attended to than that their precise desired outcome is met. And in this business, that is the most crucial part of customer service: Ensuring that each customer  feels he or she is right … even when they’re not.

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